I’ve got a story in today’s Toronto Star about a ground breaking on the first of many massive solar parks expected to be built across Ontario over the next two or three years. SkyPower Corp., a Lehman Brothers company, and joint-venture partner SunEdison LLC are beginning construction of a two-phase, 19-megawatt solar park about 30 kilometres west of Kingston, Ontario. SkyPower has another six 10-MW projects under development, and it’s not alone. Topping the list is California’s OptiSolar, which breaks ground on a six-phase, 60-MW solar park next month. In all, Ontario has signed contracts to purchase more than 400 MW of solar electricity for 42 cents a kilowatt-hour. Now, it’s no guarantee all of these projects will get built, but given the fact that the largest solar installation in Canada to date is only 100 kilowatts, the ground-breaking on these large parks is nothing short of impressive.

NOTE: When they’re built I’m going to have the Toronto Star charter a plane so we can take fly-by pictures and video of the parks. It’s about time we have our own images, rather than relying on the same old snapshots out of Bavaria, Germany.

I’m being bombarded with press releases — most of them greenwashing — because of Earth Day, but one announcement caught my eye. A company called EcoCab unveiled today that this summer it will launch a pedal-powered taxi service in Toronto, with plans next year to expand into other major urban centres across Canada. The launch in Toronto will involve 28 EcoCab “bikes” — which are three-wheeled bicycles with a passenger cabin that also features battery-assist, allowing the vehicle to reach speeds of 12 km/h (8 miles/hr) without having to pedal. “Able to easily navigate through congested city streets, the EcoCab provides convenient door to door service between office buildings, transit stations, shopping areas, restaurants, and entertainment attractions,” the company said.

Now here’s the kicker, and conventional cabbies won’t like it one bit: the service is free. That’s right, anybody can hop into one of the EcoCabs and get a free ride. The service is funded by do-good corporate sponsors.

Simple. Effective. My only question is if you can drive one of these things in downtown Toronto, why can’t you drive a ZENN?

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and RockPort Capital Partners have formed a joint venture with Norwegian electric car maker Think Global to bring their highway-speed, crash-tested car to the U.S. market in 2009. Kleiner Perkins managing partner Ray Lane, who is chairman of the new Think North America, called the creation of the joint venture and plans to mass-manufacture an electric car in the United States a “seminal event” along the way to zero-emission transportation. “The transportation industry is undergoing its largest transformation since Henry Ford built the Model T,” said Lane.

The Think City model is 95 per cent recyclable and reaches a top speed of 65 miles (100 kilometres) an hour. It can also drive up to 110 miles (180 kilometres) on a single charge, though I’m guessing that varies depending on the battery technology used. Think Global is working with two battery technologies: On the lithium-ion side, the car can use a nanophosphateTM system produced by A123, or a lithium manganese system from Enerdel; another option is a nickel-sodium chloride “Zebra” battery from MES DEA SA.

This announcement merely adds momentum to an exciting trend. The fact that Kleiners and RockPort are getting behind this and directly steering the new Think company is yet another sign that EVs aren’t just a passing fad. A number of startups and some of the big automakers are in a race to get the first mass-market electric vehicle to market over the next year or two. This competition is healthy, and will continue to drive the kind of battery innovation we need to truly see EV vehicles reach mass appeal.

Me, I drive a little 1997 Honda Civic hatchback. My next car will be electric — either all or plug-in. I can’t wait until that purchase day comes.